Architects: Isern Serra Photography: Salva López Construction Period: 2024 Location: Barcelona, Spain
Pale walls, sculptural furnishings and sunken plant features provide a striking backdrop to photoshoots taking place inside this Barcelona modelling agency, devised by Spanish studio Isern Serra.
The Blow Models office occupies the ground floor of a 1920s building and its adjoining warehouse in Barcelona’s Sant Martí neighbourhood.
Isern Serra designed its pared-back interior as “a landscape where the models can take pictures”.
The studio began by knocking through the building’s false ceiling and most of the partition walls to make the interior appear more open and airy.
A long, rectangular skylight was carved out of the ceiling to allow for more natural lighting, and all surfaces were painted in a pale buttermilk hue.
Read MoreAs the building doesn’t sit above a basement or car park, the studio took the opportunity to dig down into the site’s foundations.
At the heart of the office, the floor is now punctuated by three holes. Two of these were turned into cushioned conversation pits while the third overflows with leafy tropical plants.
“Light and vegetation becomes the centre from which the project is structured,” explained the studio. “[The] unusual and beautiful background is intended to encourage photography.”
Two large concrete tables were placed on either side of the office – one functioning as a communal work desk while the other can be used for general staff gatherings, surrounded by steel stools.
Steel was also used to create a sculptural prep counter in the office’s kitchen.
The only rooms that are closed off are those used for meetings or by the accounting department.
Plain white curtains were installed around their perimeter so that they, too, can serve as spaces to photograph models if necessary.
To maintain the office’s open plan, the toilets were tucked away beside the building’s stairwell. Here, an expansive picture window overlooks the street, bisected by a chunky concrete washbasin.
There’s also a floor-to-ceiling mirror where visiting models can do their makeup.
Text provided by the architect.
